Heat of the Moment
by MOFOSTAN
Summary: He looks shocked at first but he continues and slams the gate hard enough for me to hear it echo across the patio. He walks towards his house. Then… without giving a damn of what he would and will say I ran after him, in the heat of the moment.


"Now, parents and students, our last participant in today's talent show is…"

The light shines in my eyes as I step forward to the stage.

"Eric Theodore Cartman."

Applause is held, since it is me that is going up. I don't know why I even chose this song. I was supposed to sing _Poker Face_, but I switched at the very last moment. I don't even know why.

I then stand in front of the microphone and it hits me as my eyes set on him. That's why I chose this song. It's kind of like our song. Once I saw a YouTube video of me, about two years ago, and it was me when I was nine singing that song in the court room. I gave a speech about his condition. Kenny had cancer, and I didn't remember that till I saw the video. So I went to confront him, and over and over. I realized that he doesn't have cancer, and that he did. How could I even forget that? Apparently in the end of the video it showed a newspaper print that he died days later. How could he have died if he's here now? I pestered him until he confessed that he couldn't die. I didn't believe him. It wasn't until he sang that song quietly, when we were on the hood of my car. He sang softly and then left. I haven't talked to him in two months, but when I pass him in the halls, he just glances at me with a frustrated sadness.

I usually don't do things for people. At all. It's part of my promise, the one I made to myself the first time I saw my mother come home late at night, drugged and drunk, bruises covering her. I was four and had to carry her upstairs to her room all alone. I promised myself that night that I would only look after myself. I would only trust myself. The rest of the Earth's population can go fuck themselves for I cared. That was until he sang that song on the hood of my car. That's when I haven't stopped thinking about him.

Then at the last minute, I changed the song. When I was little, I could barely sing well with my voice, but I could hit all the notes and I was musically talented. Now that my voice has matured and I had already gone through puberty, when I sang, it was way better than anyone expected. So I decided to do this talent show.

The music starts playing. The guitars going in rough and ragged right before the drums take place.

"I never meant to be so bad to you."

I saw his face shift from bored to surprise in the audience.

"One thing I said that I would never do."

My eyes locked with his as I sang, "A look from you and I would fall from grace, and that would wipe the smile right from my face."

I took a deep breathe in and continued. "Do you remember where we used to dance," The drums kicked in heavily. "And incidents arose from circumstance."

"One thing led to another when we were young," I remember that night where I kissed him three months ago. He was shocked then, but we pretended that it didn't happen afterwards. "And we would scream together songs unsung." Then I remembered the times we drank and sang show tunes in the streets because we were bored and stupid. The neighbors complained.

The chorus came and I sang with more strength in my voice. "It was the heat of the moment, telling me what your heart meant. Heat in the moment, shown in your eyes."

I saw him turn his head slightly away and tug the edge of his hood down to cover his eyes. "And now you find yourself in '82. The disco hotspots hold no charm for you. You can concern yourself with bigger things; you catch a pearl and ride the dragon's wings." I remember the few times we got high in my basement and we would stare at the ceiling and listen to music.

The chorus began again. "Cause it's the heat of the moment. Heat of the moment. The heat of the moment, shown in your eyes."

The drums died down softly and the tune of guitars and pianos overflowed.

As I sang, I saw his mouth softly move along with the words. "And when your looks have gone and you're alone. How many nights you sit beside the phone. What were the things you wanted for yourself? Teenage ambitions you remember well." I remember the time when he said that he always wanted to be and study to be a pediatrician. I then remember the time he was drunk and came over to my house and threw things, screaming that he could never be that because his parents fucked up his dreams by using his name and left him a debt. He ended up crying on my couch. I just stood there, completely serious, but listening to him. The next day he denied it all.

I took the microphone out of the stand and held it in my hand as I slightly walked along the stage and sang, "It was the heat of the moment, telling me what your heart meant. Heat of the moment, shown in your eyes. It was the heat of the moment. Heat of the moment. Heat of the moment, shown in your eyes." I held the note of the last word till the solo came. The guitars and drums echoed across the auditorium.

I took a deep gasp and sang, "Heat of the moment. Heat of the moment. Heat of the moment. Heat of the moment. Heat of the moment." Until the song came to a halt.

As the song ended, I put the microphone in its stand and the rest of the contestants came up on the stage. We lined up in a line facing the audience and the drama teacher (great judge considering she has beef with me for stink bombing one of her plays, along with the help of Kenny) announced that the school administrators had voted and the winner will be announced now.

For once in my life, I don't care about winning. Especially as I see Ken stand up and slide through the audience and walk towards the exit. Stan and Kyle mouth out what I think is meant to ask where he is going, but he brushes them off and continues to walk away. The moment before he leaves, he turns slightly and I see his eyes switch from anger to a melancholy expression. As he opens the auditorium doors, the drama teacher announces that I'm the winner.

I leave the medal and gift certificate and ignore the drama teacher as I walk down the stairs and go for another exit. The auditorium is filled with whispers and silent confusion and the drama teacher is calling my name, but for once, I couldn't care less. I exit the doors and I see Ken outside heading for the school gates. He looks back at the noise of the doors open and sees me staring. He looks shocked at first but he continues and slams the gate hard enough for me to hear it echo across the patio in the night. He then walks away towards the road to his house.

I just stand there, not knowing what to do. Should I follow him, or take his warning to stay back.

Then… without giving a damn of what he would and will say, I take a sprint and run after him.

I ran after him, in the heat of the moment.


End file.
